WHY WE CARE

Plugged In exists to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving you and your family the essential tools you need to understand, navigate and impact the culture in which we live. Through reviews, articles and discussions, we want to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: "See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ."

<div>Please enable Javascript to watch this video</div>

YOUR STORIES

Family uses Plugged In as a ‘significant compass’

"I am at a loss for words to adequately express how much it means to my husband and me to know that there is an organization like Focus that is rooting for us. Just today I was reading Psalm 37 and thinking about how your ministry provides ways to 'dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.' We have two teenagers and an 8-year-old in our household...Plugged In has become a significant compass for our family. All three of our kids are dedicated to their walk with Christ but they still encounter challenges. Thanks for all of your research and persistence in helping us navigate through stormy waters."

Plugged In helps college student stand-up for his belief

"Thanks for the great job you do in posting movie and television reviews online. I’m a college freshman and I recently had a confrontational disagreement with my English professor regarding an R-rated film. It is her favorite movie and she wanted to show it in class. I went to your Web site to research the film’s content. Although I had not seen the movie myself, I was able to make an educated argument against it based on the concerns you outlined. The prof said that she was impressed by my stand and decided to poll the whole class and give us a choice. We overwhelmingly voted to watch a G-rated movie instead! I’ve learned that I can trust your site and I will be using it a lot in the future.”

Plugged In brings ‘Sanity and Order’ to Non-believer

“Even though I don’t consider myself a Christian, I find your Plugged In Web site useful and thought-provoking. No one reviews movies like you do. Instead of being judgmental, you put entertainment ‘on trial.’ After presenting the evidence, you allow the jury of your readers to decide for themselves what they should do. In my opinion, you bring sanity and order to the wild world of modern day entertainment. Keep up the good work!”

Mom thinks Plugged In is the ‘BEST Christian media review site’

"Our family doesn't go to the movies until we go online and check out your assessment of a given film. I think this is the BEST Christian media review website that I've found, and I recommend it to my family and friends. Keep up the good work!"

SUPPORT THE WORK OF PLUGGED IN

Our hope is that whether you're a parent, youth leader or teen, the information and tools at Plugged In will help you and your family make appropriate media decisions. We are privileged to do the work we do, and are continually thankful for the generosity and support from you, our loyal readers, listeners and friends.

Sign up for a campaign update

On DVD

Step Up All In

PLUGGED IN RATING

We hope this review was both interesting and useful. Please share it with family and friends who would benefit from it as well.

Movie Review

Things haven't been going all that great for Sean and his dance crew since they moved to L.A. They landed one sweet gig when they first arrived in town, but ever since it's been a series of failed and, frankly, humiliating auditions for anything that might bring in a buck.

After three years of effort, Sean's best bud Eddy is seriously wondering why they're still trying to grind it out for some career-making dream that's become more of a money-sucking nightmare. In fact, Eddy is so serious that he decides to pack it in and head back home to Miami. The rest of the crew shrugs and follows him.

Sean, however, isn't ready to quit quite yet. Surely there's got to be a way that a dedicated dancer can make a worthwhile living doing what he loves! Dancing for fun just doesn't cut it anymore. So while cleaning toilets and living in a storage closet in an old Cha Cha dance studio, Sean hits the Web looking for possibilities.

He spots a promo for the Vortex, a Los Vegas dance-off hosted by famed pop glitz-queen Alexxa Brava. The winning crew of dancers gets a three-year contract for its own show at none other than Caesars Palace!

Since his crew has already bailed and flown off to the opposite coast, there's only one thing Sean (who was also featured in Step Up Revolution) can do: start from scratch and put together a new troupe. He pulls in his old friend Moose (from the last three Step Up movies) and a former dance-crew leader named Andie (from Step Up 2 the Streets), and together they start building a killer cadre of talented dancers like you've never seen. (Except in the last Step Up film, of course!)

Can they find the rhythm and start dancing together like a team?

Can they put together a video creative enough to earn them entrance into the Vortex event?

Can Sean and Andie deal with this love-hate vibe between them?

Can they step up and go all in for one last shot at fame?

You do know what kind of movie this is, right?

Advertisement

Positive Elements

Sean and Andie want pretty much the same thing: to do their best and win the prize. But they want it for different reasons. For Sean it's a last ditch, laser-focused effort to finally make it, no matter the cost. For Andie, it's more about the love of the craft and the joy of being part of a well-oiled, family-like crew. The colder-minded Sean eventually comes to see the wisdom of Andie's perspective. He apologizes to her, his crew and other friends for the misguided way he's treated them.

Moose also understands the importance of the whole family relationship thing. He helps out his elderly aunt and uncle at their dance studio whenever he can. And he's ready to sacrifice his part in the dancing competition when he realizes his inadvertent actions have hurt the woman he loves.

Moose's aunt and uncle counsel Sean to not expect perfection in life, stressing that perseverance is the key. "Sometimes you just have to shovel through it," they tell him. And we see that that philosophy has served them well in their long-lasting loving relationship.

Spiritual Content

Sexual Content

The dancers' costumes, in both performance and rehearsal, are often formfitting and/or sexually suggestive. Andie, in particular, wears quite a variety of outfits showcasing her toned midriff. Guys sometimes strip off their shirts to show off six-pack abs. And the girls can be seen in everything from short shorts with garter belts, to (very) low-riding sweat pants, to torn "nurse" outfits with a breast-lifting bodice, to little more than brief bikinis. Alexxa Brava favors shear, beaded getups that tend to reveal more than they cover. Mannequins and large alabaster statues of nude or partially nude women feature realistic figures and body features.

Dance moves incorporate crotch cups, pelvic thrusts, bouncing cleavage, and sexual-minded grinds and twerks. Sean and Andie perform one move that throws her well over his head, after which she somersaults down and wraps her legs around his waist for an impassioned full embrace and kiss.

One of the men sprays cologne down the front of his pants to prepare for what he hopes will be a sexual tryst with another dancer. It doesn't happen, but he pursues her verbally throughout, speaking of a bed they could "visit." Moose and his girlfriend share an apartment. Several couples kiss.

Sean goofs around with ladies' panties on his head. During commercial auditions, dancers are asked to "make love" to a garden hose. (We see the resulting pantomime.)

Even the bravest parents feel timid about discussing sex with their 8- to 14-year-olds! This resource offers reassuring, humorous, real-life anecdotes along with reliable information to help you with this challenging task.

Violent Content

Crude or Profane Language

One f-word and two s-words are joined by two uses of "a--," and one use each of "h---" and "b--tard." "Oh my god" is exclaimed three or four times. We hear the profane phrase "holy balls."

Drug and Alcohol Content

Nearly all the twentysomething dancers knock back beer, mixed drinks and champagne whenever they have down time. Several bar and casino scenes, along with a dinner sequence with Moose's aunt and uncle, feature wine, beer and martinis. A dance-off in a bar showcases a fellow acrobatically dancing with a beer bottle. A dance crew mimes toking on marijuana joints.

Other Negative Elements

Moose's uncle tells of having to shovel "sheep poop" in his youth—and then several references and quips harken back to said scooped-up substance. A dance number features guys "urinating" into the camera lens with squirt bottles. Sean's crew gambles in a casino. During those aforementioned commercial auditions, dancers are also asked to "use" toilet paper.

Conclusion

When working out a dance routine there are certain procedural steps a dancer takes every time. The moves may vary, the music and partners change, but the system for getting that choreographed number nailed down is going to be pretty standard. That's what makes it all work time after time.

It seems to make some sort of lunge-pivot-and-ball-change sense, then, that the Step Up movies are as interchangeable and formulaic as they are. The pretty and hyper-toned dancers, flashing-light locations, and incredible leaping moves may be a bit different each go-round, but nobody sees any reason to shake up the core process. There's always going to be a competition prize to shoot for, a crew to put together, fruitless jobs to abandon at a moment's notice, a rival posse to best, a strained attraction between lead male and female hoofers, and a big blow-out dance battle won with a last-second come-from-behind strategy.

'Cause, hey, that's what dancers do when they're all in!

Neither is it a surprise that Step Up All In's content missteps are pretty standard as well. We see the same sort of skimpy, spandex-cling costumes, the same prominent cleavage and ripped abs, the same sexy dance moves, the same tendency toward boozing, flirting and lip-locking. Again, it's all pretty routine for the pretty routines. Nothing worse than what's come before, but nothing better, either. Certainly nothing worth doing a full-on happy dance over.

movie Reviews

Advertisement

Get weekly e-news, Culture Clips & more!

Plugged In Blog

Good media discernment is about guarding our eyes and hearts before we watch or listen. And it's also about grappling with the entertainment we do see or hear. That's why the Plugged In Blog is devoted to guarding, discussing and grappling.

Family Safety

Protecting our families today is more vital than ever. And by partnering with ClearPlay and Net Nanny, Focus on the Family hopes to point you to resources and tools that can help you navigate the entertainment world around you.